1 June 2007 – Friday

I am really mixed up. I could swear that today is Saturday and not Friday. But that is because all day yesterday I thought it was Friday. I did not sleep well – or maybe it would be better to say I did not sleep long enough. I woke just after 4 and there was no way I could go back to sleep. Mary had the same problem.

Since we need to be at the chapel earlier than usual we have to hurry to get ready so we can get our hour of reading the Kitab Mormon in. When we get to the church we find our last student has made it in – he looks very tired. He is the driver for one of the senior couples and only found out he was coming yesterday.

The students all arrive on time and say they slept OK – they do have some complaints but not many. We get right into class. We hear a couple of reports on the homework we gave them last night, we talk a little about why it is so important that they only speak English, and have them interview their partner so they can introduce them later in the day.

Then they take a full, but out dated, TOEFL test – it is about 3 hours long. Mary and I took turns sitting in the room so we could tell them when to start and stop each section. While Mary watched I tried to get on line so I could check our corporate mail. Unfortunately it just was not cooperating. I think I am going to change back to a phone service – this wireless is useless. So yesterday we had no electricity and today we have no internet. The joys of being in Indonesia.

By the time they had finished the test they were fried so it was a good thing that they had a couple of hours to relax before the next class period started. Since we were going to be away until evening – we needed to do some shopping and try to take a short nap – we left the key to the building with one of them and Sam took us to the mission office so we could give the Peterson’s the things they needed to conduct the afternoon class. Mainly they scored the tests and went over why the answer was what it was. While we were doing this Sam got us some lunch – we had left ours back at the office.

From there we went to SoGo to get some things we needed for ourselves and so Mary could cook dinner for the class on Sunday. When I woke up this morning I got the inspiration that we should have them all over to our apartment on Sunday night. We will feed them and then watch some of the conference talks. They will take notes and we will ask some questions about each talk. I think two talks will be plenty. Then Sam will take them back home with some homework.

It was a good thing that we had a chance to come home and relax for an hour or so before heading back to the church. We both were both very tired and I think slightly stressed. We fully realized that we did not have a solid plan about what we are going to do tomorrow – or for that matter the next class period. We are running on a wing and a prayer – lots of the latter.

We got back before the Peterson’s were through so we could hear something about what they taught and to thank them for their help. They will teach a couple of classes a week – we just need to figure out what to tell them to teach.

There was an hour dinner break but most of the students did not go and get anything. So we got to talk to them. I believe that before this class is over we will know them quite well and hopefully we can stay in touch long after the class is completed. Agus – the Bennett’s driver – is away from his wife and young daughter for a full month. Ekjo (Echo) – the recently released missionary – is a fine young man who has a degree in veterinarian medicine but does not want to pursue that career. I need to talk to him about why he has changed his mind. Toni is the hard one to figure out – I hope that I get to know him before the class is over. Jin-young turns out to be only 16 and not 18 – well that is she is 16 in our years but 18 in Chinese lunar years. I would not have allowed her in if I had known she was only 16. She has difficulty understanding written and spoken English in a classroom setting. I have no idea how much she can learn in this class. Anna has an old mind – I am afraid she has her mind and spirit set on the world. Hopefully we can bring give her a spiritual lift as well as teach her English. (I am writing this aside on the 13th to say that I was wrong about Anna. She has a good spirit and is really trying.) The jewel of the class is Vita – I think she is worth all the effort we are putting in. She has a wonderful spirit, a keen mind, and a great desire to learn English. She is the kind that this class was made for – I hope we can teach her enough that she can get into BYU Hawaii.

We were talking with Jim when he mentioned that there were comments that I had not moderated so they had not appeared. I want to apologize for that. I forgot that I needed to approve any comments before they are posted. From now on I will make sure I check each time I log on. So please, please make lots of comments – we really look forward to any communication with you.

Today is our P-day – that is it is after noon. So I will try to catch up my June journal and post it here later today.

I am in the office while Mary is teaching our class. I will be joining her after the break. Today marks the start of the second week and I gave them a pep-talk this morning about the need for them to buckle down and really start to apply themselves. That it was a great opportunity for them and it was up to them as to how much they learn.

As I was doing some things this morning, I was prompted to open the Book of Mormon and read the start of 1st. Nephi. I think that we are missing and opportunity by not using the Book of Mormon as our text in teaching. Almost everything can be taught from it – including bad English. The advantage is while they learn English they will also learn more about the Gospel.

I am going to try to use this idea in the next hour.

Hi I am writing this just to let everyone know we are very tired but other than that we are fine. The intensive English Class started on Thursday the 31st at 6:00 p.m. It is going along well. We have 6 students and Sam. One of the students is very bright and I hope she will decide to try to get into BYUH. She has a mind that wants to gain knowledge, she works hard, and does more than asked. There is also a 16 year old Korean sister – she told us she was 18 but forgot to mention that is using the Chinese Lunar calendar – and wants take the TOEFL test and go to BYUH. The rest of them are a mixed bunch. We will know more at the end of the first week.

Hopefully I will find time to write in my journal because there is certainly a lot going on. On Saturday night I spoke to one of the branches about employment opportunities in Indonesia. On Sunday we went to five hours of church and Mary taught a class in Family History. So we are getting plenty of chances to be involved.

On Saturday, Elder Subandriyo – the Area Seventy – talked to the class. He said that he thought their were three keys to being successful in anything in life. First we must be obedient, second we must work hard, and third we must develop a skill. As I have thought about this, I have come to realize it works for just about anything we do. In the Church or in Life. And all of these depend on what we do and not at all about what other do.

Thats it for now –

Love all of you and we need lots more letters from the grandchildren – and more from children of course – with pictures. Speaking of pictures if you are not looking at Olivia’s website you are missing lots of great pictures.
Dad

The dignitaries and the judges at the reading contest – A traditional dancer.
30 May 2007 – Wednesday

We spent the day judging a newspaper reading contest at a Muslim highschool. Our friends Agus and Catherin teach English there and they had been asked to judge but they felt having a couple of Bulais to do it instead would be good. They also recruited an Indonesian sister – who’s name I will have to fill in later – to be the third judge. Her husband and her had served as mission president here, they had lived in Hawaii for 6 years, and she teaches and tutors students to pass the TOEFL test. She has also judge this type of contest before.

This is really a big deal in Indonesia. There were 9 or 10 schools represented for a total of 23 readers. They each had 5 minutes to read an recent article from the Jakarta Post. They were given their choice of 5 articles to read. They were supposed to be TV news anchors. When I realized that this was going to take 2 hours of listening I was not really excited, but surprisingly it went quite fast and if we could have shut down the music it would have been even more enjoyable than it was. We judge them on performance and fluency – how they presented themselves and how they read.

I thought this would be very difficult but once we had heard 2 of them we had a pretty good idea as to what we were going to hear and see. The quality varied greatly but as I later told the participants they were all winners just for taking part. Choosing the winners turned out to be easy because we added up the three judges score. While we each used different scale of numbers, we came very close to agreeing on who were the best. The young lady who won was first on mine and the other sister’s list and Mary gave her 2nd place. We had her first place as our 2nd place.

After they had all read we went back to the office and Agus and Catherin totaled the scores while the judges talked about what points I – I was the chief judge over the nation of judges (we are in that period in the Kitab Mormon) – would mention to the group before announcing the winners. The main one was to read slower, learn to break the sentences into more interesting segments but to be sure to at least pause for punctuation. Also that wanted was not want – ted.

When we came back out to the performance area, some students were putting on a traditional Indonesian dance. This one told the story of a dispute between some rich men and some poor men over the affections of some women. Unfortunately we did not get back in time to see the first part but what we saw was very good. The students had great fun and the story ends with the chief – who was disguised as a maiden – reveals his true identity and makes the two sides make up. I got some of it on video but only a small portion.

I got to speak to the contestants and then stand on the stage and announce the winners. We thought there were only 3 winners but it turned out there were actually 4 prizes given. So after giving out the 3rd and 2nd place trophies I had to go back and give out the 4th place. The trophies were very big and gaudy but very light – they are plastic. The first three winners not only got trophies but also digital cameras – donated by someone I met but do not have any idea of what or who they were. The winner also gets a four foot trophy for their school.  I am in many, many pictures with the winners – maybe I will see myself in the paper.

They treated us as very special guests. Thanking us a half dozen times – and with me thanking them for the honor of being judges. When we left they gave us lunch and some beautiful fruit baskets.  We did not eat the food because Agus and Catherin insisted on taking us out for lunch. Of course this meant we had to drive back to Tangerang – we were in the car for a total of 4 ½ hours toda – to their area. We had a very nice and delicious lunch at a place in the mall. It was not expensive but the food was very good and just enough to fill me up.

We left the apartment at 7:30 a.m. and arrived home at 6:00 p.m. Strangely enough I was tired but not as exhausted as I was on Monday. We watched a little T.V., read from the Kitab Mormon, and then I read from the D&C before turning off the light on a very different but good day. The only down side was that we did not do anything about getting ready for the class that will start tomorrow night.

The Indonesia, Barat (West) Zone (Minus the Kanes) May 29, 2007 – The Twin Towers from our balcony. – The Van Dongens – they are a great couple who have completely changed a branch during their mission. They go home on June 24 – they will certainly be missed.
29 May 2007 – Tuesday

It seems that our days are getting busier and I do not see this ending anytime soon. Today was Zone Conference – the last one in the Jakarta zone for the president and sister Jensen. I must say that they do not seem trunky at all – they must of course be thinking about the date only a month away when they will leave Indonesia and head home to Arizona but they do not sound or act any different.

The time they spend on statistics seems almost a waste to me but I guess it is something the young missionaries need to see. They see how the zone is doing against itself and then how the zone is doing against the rest of the mission. Some of the trend lines do not mean much since there are such small numbers that when you have a family baptized the line goes way up and then for the next three weeks there are none in the zone so it goes flat line – I think a bar graph by the month comparing it with the same period over the last 3 years might be better.

The theme of the conference was ‘Patience’ – this is important because often the elders and sisters become discouraged about the lack of success here. In PMG it says that if we are doing our best and are impatient that it shows a lack of faith in God. We need to remember that God’s time is the important one. One sister told about the terrible day her and her companion had when three investigators who all were doing well and had set baptism dates all told them not to come back. Soon after that she got a letter from her father telling her that she needed to learn patience – that every person had the right to say no to the gospel plan. Her task was to present it in the best way she could. He said we never know what the future results of her teaching may bring about.

Sister Jensen told the story of their son who could not take tests – he was a good student but froze when faced with a test and a time limit. He decided he wanted to go to law school but when he took the LSAT he did so poorly only a small, very expensive private school would accept him. After he graduated from there he went to work in Las Vegas – it took him 7 tries to pass the Nevada bar.

President Jensen spoke about being patient but diligent in doing the work. That it is how hard we work that the Lord will judge us. Not how we compare with others but how we use our own abilities and talents.

He gave out a list of his 50 favorite scriptural thoughts and went through some of them with us. During this time he told the story of his trip down the Grand Canyon with 5 of his scouts. They were walking along a trail and came around one bend to find two young ladies enjoying a waterfall and pool naked. Four of the young men said ‘Wow’ but the fourth immediately put his hands over his eyes, turned his back, and said “I can not look at that.” The president said that he and his wife were so impressed with this that they named their next son in honor of him. President Jensen did not say what he did. It reminded me of the time I took a canoe trip down the Russian River with a very young Tom and Bob. We came to a section where a nudist colony was swimming in the river. I tried to not look and to keep the boys from looking but the river carried us right through them and I had to make sure we did not run over any so I am afraid I got a very good look at a lot of naked women. I do not imagine Tom and Bob remembers this at all.

After a good lunch and an afternoon session where I threw in a few comments and thoughts about teaching the gospel by the spirit we came back to the apartment to rest for a while before going back to meet with a three couples about helping us with the English class.

We went through what we were attempting to do and got some ideas from them. They are not going to be able to help us with a lot of time but it looks like one of the brothers would be willing to take them most nights as long as we have Sam drive them over and bring them home. I think we might do this 3 or 4 nights a week – we can spend the time preparing for the next day, correcting papers, etc. I do not see it as time off.

28 May 2007 – Monday –

We had a good day – for the kind of day it was. Mornings are pretty regular around here – we take care of things, read Kitab Mormon and then get ready for the day. Today I did some laundry and neaten the apartment for the later cleaning.

We spent 4 hours inspecting the missionary’s houses. Actually we spent 30 minutes doing the inspecting, 30 minutes shopping and 3 hours creeping through Jakarta’s traffic. The houses were both well kept – at least for missionaries – and we spent most of our time talking to the missionaries. Checking up on their health, how they were getting along, etc. I hope elder Samosir learns enough English or I learn enough Indonesian so I can get to know him better. I think he is a neat young man and hope that he can get a good education and a good job. He could develop into a strong PH leader – which is what the church needs here.

Before we went to the first home we stopped at Ranch Market and bought a few things. Ranch Market is a real upscale market for rich folks – they sometimes have items we can not get anywhere else. My big purchase was a pot of mums to bring a little color to the living room.

After visiting the last place we started home. Mary mentioned that she was getting hungry and would like to find a bakery. As usual Sam came through with not only a BreadTalk but also a shop that fixed the glasses she messed up when she took the fall. While Mary was getting her glasses fixed I walked around the mall and found that it was basically a food mall with some shops that were all expensive. I saw more ‘bulais’ – us white guys – in 10 minutes than I usually see in a week. We found out from Sam that we were in an area where lots of ex-pats live behind big walls and lots of guards. I would guess that it is a good location if you provide the right kind of food and entertainment. The BreadTalk was much smaller than the one at SoGo but had pretty much the same items. The bakery was very small with the bakers almost stepping on each other to get things prepared. But it had lots of business so I imagine it makes money.

The trip home took forever – which is the theme of the day. The main problem was that there were too many turns, cross streets and stop lights. I have not figured out how they set stop lights in Indonesia – they seem to have long reds and short greens. Now I know this means that if you are going the other way it should be long greens and short reds but that is not how it works. Usually there are at least three streets feeding in to a light and sometimes as many as five. So that means that you have to wait through as many as 4 other greens before yours come around again.

Once we were back to the apartment we finished picking up before the maid came . While she was here I took a nap – I have not been sleeping well but even when I sleep well a nap is nice.

The evening was basically studying Indonesian, reading in the Kitab Mormon and the D&C. I found the 6th section of the D&C very comforting and filled with wisdom. In 6:7 it expands on Jacob 2 where it says ‘seek ye first the Kingdom of God’ – here it says ‘Seek not riches, but for wisdom, and behold the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall ye be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich. 6:12 reminds us ‘Trifle not with sacred things.’ I really like 6:33 – ‘Fear not to do good.’ How often are we afraid to open our mouths and tell other about the gospel because we are afraid ‘to do good.’ Or how many years did we sit at home instead of going on a mission because we were afraid ‘to do good.’  This is closely followed by the council ‘Look to me in every thought, doubt not, fear not.’ One of the great blessings of a mission is the chance to spend so much time studying the scriptures. I hope that when we return home we will continue to do this.

A traveling hubcap store – notice the Mercedes caps.

A Staghorn fern that is growing on a tree in the yard of the chapel. They grow huge ones here.

A recent setting sun as viewed from our deck – the blue dome is a mosque.

27 May 2007 – Sunday

This has been a great Sunday – probably the best of our mission for me. For sure it was the longest Sunday that we have had.

For only the second time we have been in Indonesia we went to the English branch to try and get some help for our English class. The president had put our plea into the bulletin and also announced it from the stand. It was strange to be actually be able to understand what was being said in sacrament meeting. It was the Young Women’s program and so 6 young women gave their talks. This was followed by an excellent talk by the YW president.

At the end president Weaver mentioned all the rank advancements in the branch during the year. It seems there is a very lively Scouting program with everyone getting from Heart to Eagle. There is no scouting program for the Indonesian saints because there is no Boy Scouts of Indonesia. They do have the Duty to God award program but I have no idea how well it is doing.

After she had spoken Elder Subandriyo gave a short talk that really was meaningful to me. He said that it would be good if we stopped and asked if we were in ‘the plan.’ That it is not a coincidence that each of us are where we are at this time. God knows our heart and thoughts. He knows what is right for us. Through prayer we can receive revelation to let us know what is His plan and what is our part in that plan. He ended with the thought that repentance takes us to a higher ground. I was embarrassed when he said that we were doing what we should be doing.

Even though he suggested we were doing what the Lord wanted us to do, he got me to thinking about if I am truly doing the right things with my time and energies. Am spending too much of this mision doing what I want to do when I should be doing what God wants me to do. This brings to mind Jesus in the garden when he asks that if possible the cup be taken from him – is there a sheep in the thicket – but if not His will be done. I know the Lord tells us in the D&C that men should not ‘be commanded in all things’ but I am afraid I use that as an excuse not to ask the Lord what He would have me do because I am afraid he will tell me to do something that I do not care to do. So I am doing good – but maybe not what would be best for me to do. Sometimes I am sure it does not matter but at other times I think that it does.

After the meeting a few of the members came up and said they could help – unfortunately many of them will be leaving for their month back in the States during June. One of them is a member from Zimbabwe and his English is not very good – I am not sure how we will use him. The ex-pat families are interesting. First of all they are all very well off while serving outside of the US. They would be well off in the US but not like this. All expenses are paid and there is no US taxes on their income – the Indonesian taxes are very small. Their children go to the International School where very good teachers and instructors are employed.  None of the children seem to miss the US – even those who have lived there for some time. When you talk to them they often feel that they want a job that will allow them to do the same thing. It makes a lot of sense since they can retire in their 50’s and serve missions, etc. They also provide leadership in areas where it is really needed.

Sunday School was excellent – it was on some parables about giving up worldly things to serve others and God – we participated and that is something we can not do yet in Indonesian. The same with PH – the teacher there was not as good as in SS but it was still a good lesson.

When the block was over we went to our office to wait a couple of hours for Sam to get out. I thought it would be hard waiting but after doing a few things for English class, we started reading the Kitab Mormon and the time flew by.

As soon as Sam was done we headed off to meet elder Wight and elder Samosir and go to teach the single sister with two children who we have been to before. She is very pleasant and her children are beautiful but she is not reading the Kitab Mormon and have not been out to church so I do not hold much hope for her until she does. After that we tried to meet with an inactive man but he had recently moved to Bogor. Finally we headed over to Sister Paulina who owns the nursery. Elder Wight held a nice discussion with her but as usual she has lots of reasons for not coming. He discovered, as I did the first time we met her, that she should have never been baptized. She had not read the Kitab Mormon, she did not believe that the Church was true, etc. She only joined because her missionary asked her to – I can not see how she passed a baptism interview. As we left I told her in poor Indonesian that God, Christ and ourselves loved her. I also bought a very interesting fern for the apartment.

After dropping off the missionaries we made it home at about sunset – long after we usually get home on Sunday – very tired but quite happy for all that we had a chance to take part in and accomplish today. It has been one of the best days of our mission. It is a shame that so many of our friends are sitting at home instead of being out on a mission where they can feel such wonderful joy in serving. Not that serving in the ward or stake is not rewarding but there are so many who could do that and the need for senior couples are so great.

As usual the evening rushed by. We read another hour in Kitab Mormon – we got in over three hours today. Before turning off the light I read from the D&C.

A not very big picture of the very ‘public’ toilet that we can see from Mary’s classroom at the university. Further downstream people will be washing clothes, maybe swimming, etc. The next is Mary teaching her University class. The final one is of the missionaries wolfing down a home made meal – they were in 7th heaven.
25 May 2007 – Friday

And the days dwindle down – not as to our mission but it is only a week until we start our English class. I am both excited and worried – and humbled – about this.

The mornings seem to always rush by – in fact the days often are that way also. As I sit down and write about today, it seems like I just was getting up a couple of hours ago instead of 17. Although we did not do all that much today, what we did do was rather exciting and also enjoyable.

In the morning we did our usual hour of reading from the Kitab Mormon and I started in the D&C. I am planning to read it and make comments in a journal I bought about the things I read. What I read this morning served me well at district meeting.

After reading from KM on Friday we usually have enough time to take a short nap before it is time to leave for the mission office. Today as I was sprawled out on the couch about half asleep, I remembered the books that Steve Gibson gave me about small businesses that they use in their school in the Philipines. I feel it must have been inspiration because it came out of the blue. I realized that we could use them as reading assignments in our English class. In this way the students would not only learn English but also learn important business rules that they could either use in their lives or teach to others. I am hoping they also may give me some new ideas on businesses that our members could be involved in.

District meeting was very good for a number of reasons. Before it started I talked to Elder Subandriyo about the English class and he suggested that he go with us to the English branch to see if we can get people to volunteer to help. It does not hurt to have the Area 70 go to bat for the program. Of course Elder Subandriyo is as excited about this as we are. He sees it as a way to help Indonesian members to have better lives and stronger PH leaders – as I do.

I was surprised to be asked at the last moment to give a spiritual thought. I used the 1st section of the D&C as my text and read about how the Lord’s disciples were called on to take the message of the gospel to all the world. I pointed out that there were only a handful more PH holders at the Johnson farm when that revelation was given. I said to imagine how it would have felt to be there and hear that. They were called to convert the whole world and we called to convert only a single nation. I told them that we need to believe that we can do this as they believed they could.

Later the lesson was on prayer and I brought up the thought that we really needed to pray over all that we do. We need to pray specifically for things – like each investigator before we teach that we will have the spirit with us so we can teach what the people need to hear which may not be what we want to teach or are prepared to teach. The sister who gave the lesson did an excellent job – making good points and giving good thoughts all the way through.

Just as we were finishing Sister Peterson announced that she had prepared a homemade lunch of chicken noodle soup, bread and brownies. She had whipped all this up in the morning. It was delicious – especially the bread and the brownies. The elders and sisters really tucked the food away. Elder Thomas put enough salt and pepper in his soup to kill any other taste.

After the district meeting Elder Subandriyo gave me the applications of two returned missionary sisters who are coming to the program. This meant the two sisters in Bandung and the one in the English branch will not be in this class. But I got Elder S. to promise they got first shot for the next one. That is if this one does anything like what we hope it will. Actually we are not sure any of these participants are interested in taking the Michigan test to try and get into BYUH.  Later I had to make the hard call to the Van Dongens and tell them the young ladies would not be in this group. We did our important BreadTalk shopping at SoGo before heading home for the rest of the day.

The evening was our normal mix of TV and studying. We read four pages from Kitab Mormon – we only have 250 more to go for our first time through. I also continue to work on vocabulary – an area where Mary is far ahead of me. But it seems that more and more words are sticking and when I try to think of things I want to say I can usually come close – or at least I think I am coming close.

24 May 2007 – Thursday

Wow the days just whiz by it seems – already the weekend is almost upon me. The best news of the day is Mary seems to have shaken her illness and that makes her very happy. We got great letters from Tyler and Taylor – both of them seem to ready for school to get out and have lots of plans for summer. It is always great to get letters from the family.

At the office we work on our English classes. We received a couple of calls from people who do not speak enough English that I can communicate with them. I give it my best shot but it does not work. In at least one case I believe they wanted to come by the office but I could not tell them enough about where we are. I gave them Sam’s phone number but they did not call him. Frustrating to say the least.

After the office we come home and rest until it is time to go to Tangerang for district meeting and English class. I told Mary I think it is time to change classes – she can entertain the young children and I get to teach the advanced class. I do not think she is buying it – maybe later in the summer we can switch.

At district meeting I once again talked about the need for the spirit when they teach. It is the only thing that will change a person’s life and without it we are just selling the Gospel. I said that if they did not feel the spirit burning in them when they were teaching, they could not expect the investigator to feel it. I certainly felt the spirit as I said this to them and I hope that they did also. I think at least some of them did. I am afraid that they all know exactly what to say but I am not sure they all know how to invite the spirit.

We had only 2 at our English class – both of them were from Mary’s class. But that was OK because all of the Elders went in with them and they had a good time. I spent my hour reading from the Kitab Mormon and Alkitab – I am encouraged by how much of it I can read. It helps that I know most of the stories so once I get an idea of what is going on, I can do some good guessing.

Usually when we get home from English class we are ready to drop into bed but tonight I turned on the TV and the movie ‘The Greatest Game Ever Played’ was on. It was basically the story of the 1913 US Open and they young 20 year old amateur – Ouimet – that won it in a playoff with two of best British golfers of the time – one of which was Harry Vardon. The spiced up the story some but stuck to the basic facts including using a young actor that was a dead ringer for the 10 year old caddy that carried his clubs because there was no one else who would. Ouimet went on to be called ‘the father of American amateur golf’ and his caddie went on to become a multi-millionaire.

Mary watched the whole thing and I bounced in and out of the room as I had some other things to do. Unfortunately the movie won out over reading another hour from the Kitab Mormon. We will need to read more tomorrow to make up for it. One fo the things I did was to look at Olivia’s blog. It shows how she has changed over the last two years – from a chubby little baby to a thin young lady. One thing has not changed – her ever ready smile.